What Happened to the Truth?

The problem with irony is that often it is impossible to articulate its magnitude.  Trust me, I’ve tried! 

“Now that’s ironic!”  “This could not be more ironic!”  “Can you believe how ironic that is?”

Just in case you skipped your figures of speech class in college, a quick click to dictionary.com reminds us “The essential feature of irony is the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs. In the figure of speech, emphasis is placed on the opposition between the literal and intended meaning of a statement; one thing is said and its opposite implied, as in the comment, ‘Beautiful weather, isn’t it?’ made when it is raining or nasty.”

Last week, the publisher of Scott McClellan’s still-in-the-works book called “What Happened” released the following excerpt: 

“The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. There was one problem. It was not true. I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the Vice President, the President’s chief of staff, and the President himself.”

Isn’t that ironic!  Right here at www.spinsucks.com, I had just written a rant proclaiming: “Unfortunately, a bunch of “PR” people in some key government jobs, well-heeled agencies, reputable companies, and elsewhere are making some pretty bonehead decisions about how best to “do” PR.”

I love it when I’m right.  And, I’m getting really tired of kiss-and-tell political books! 

In the guise of engendering empathy of “How could such a good guy be put in this position?” they generate millions of dollars in royalties and propel fame on the speaking circuit.  Why?  To set the record straight, of course!  Ironic that the former top spokesperson refused to comment after the excerpt was released citing that the book is still being finished.

I’d suggest a new title such as, “What Happened to the Truth?” — Shawn M. Kahle, APR